NFL veteran Roberto Wallace joins Breaffy battle

Roberto Wallace is not the first visitor from the United States to come to Ireland looking for an unique experience but he is certainly the first American football star to line out for Aidan O’Shea’s Breaffy club in Mayo.

A cold, wet, Saturday morning in Mayo playing a challenge match for Breaffy against local rivals Parke was certainly out of his comfort zone.

Wallace is more used to the sun in San Diego, Miami, or Tennessee. But the 29-year-old former NFL wide receiver stood up to the challenge and although he didn’t score, he added a large degree of physicality to the full-forward line.

Then again, he was replacing a decent physical specimen in Aidan O’Shea, who took part in an exchange as he tries his hand with the oval-shaped ball as part of ‘The Toughest Trade’ documentary.

But with a 6ft 4, nearly 16 stone recruit waiting in the wings, Breaffy won handsomely, the game finishing 4-12 to 2-6 in their favour.

‘The Toughest Trade’ is a documentary film commissioned by AIB as part of its #TheToughest campaign. The two-part documentary series will air on RTÉ 2 in early March ahead of the AIB GAA Club Championship Finals.

“It’s definitely a different experience for me. I haven’t played in any kind of field or pitch like that. I definitely have a new appreciation for the sport, what these guys do,” said Wallace.

“It’s tough, it’s consistent movement, consistent running for 30 minutes, there’s no timeouts, there’s no breaks.

“It’s a tough sport, you’ve got to be able to run in that, bounce in that, shut a guy off of you and kick the ball or punch it, whatever you have to do to get it in.”

Wallace survived to tell the tale as he returns home to San Diego with his fiancée Jamie, where he works as a performance trainer with elite teams and athletes.

“Our practices in the NFL are so scripted, they are exact times and periods. There is 22 periods, and each period is something specific,” he said.

“There are 15 coaches, they all have a schedule, and every day there is a new schedule printed. It’s way, way different. The structure is much, much different in the NFL.

“But that’s completely understandable because it’s a professional sport.”